HOW TO FIND A BABYSITTER

Toowoomba mum builds babysitter sharing app

FINDING a reliable babysitter will be made easier after Toowoomba mum Rebecca Dredge launched her new app Kiddo.

It lists available babysitters, provides for a reliable payment transfer, and give parents details about the people caring for their kids.

Mrs Dredge said she had designed the app to give both sitters and parents peace of mind.

“We verify every sitter, hold their blue card on record along with other qualifications, like a first-aid certificate,” she said

“They put in all their preferences like how much notice they need, their availability, how much they want to charge and how far they will travel.”

Parents log into the app, punch in the time and date they require a sitter for and Kiddo generates a list of candidates.

For decades, parents relied on a network of family and friends to vouch for new babysitters. Mrs Dredge said Kiddo moved this circle of trust to a digital platform.

“It empowers young women to develop a professional profile and manage their business,” she said.

Parents can save the details of their favourite sitters and share them with other parents.

It also eliminates some of the awkward interactions that

‘‘ IT EMPOWERS YOUNG WOMEN TO DEVELOP A PROFESSIONAL PROFILE AND MANAGE THEIR BUSINESS.

REBECCA DREDGE

come with a bad babysitter experience.

All the payments run through the app and sitters can block parents if they have trouble turning down a job, or do not want to work for that particular family.

It also prompts sitters to send updates to parents while they care for the children.

More than 500 parents have already registered for the app.

“We have been doing beta testing for the past month and we have got really good feedback,” Mrs Dredge said.

Kiddo is the first app built by Mrs Dredge, a former accountant. She said it had been a steep learning curve.

“I have to thank everyone at Toowoomba Mumpreneurs and people at Canvas Coworking for all their help,” she said. “They have been an invaluable resource and are putting Toowoomba on the map for startups.”

The official Kiddo launch will be this weekend at the Toowoomba Baby and Toddler Expo. It is already available for download.

Photo: Kiddo NEW APP: Sharing a high-five are (from left) Kiddo babysitter Megan Spratt, app founder Rebecca Dredge and her three-year-old daughter Caitlin Dredge.